Belgium's interim government won a vote of confidence in Parliament on Dec. 23, gaining support for the coalition Liberal Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt assembled to end more than six months of political stalemate.

Guy Verhofstadt AP PHOTO

As expected, the five parties in the coalition easily mustered a majority in the Chamber of Representatives, which met Dec. 23 to ensure the government was in place before the holidays.

Belgium has been gripped by a political crisis since a general election June 10. The Flemish Christian Democratic party emerged as the big winner in the election but has been unable to strike a coalition agreement with French-speaking parties, who resist its plans to devolve power from the federal government to the regions.